UTOPIA appeals to Orem officials

OREM — Another Happy Valley city may seek a spot in UTOPIA.

Orem officials are pondering whether to enter UTOPIA — an acronym for Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency — to provide high-speed video, voice and data technology to homes and businesses in the city.

So what's the hang-up? A hefty per-city price tag assessed to UTOPIA members.

Still, a few Orem officials appear ready to join 17 other Utah cities that hope to build the fiber-optic network.

"I think Orem is going to wind up doing it unless there is a real harsh, negative reaction to it," said Orem City Councilman Dean Dickerson.

A public meeting Wednesday will focus on Orem's potential future involvement with the network, which, if built according to current plans, would be capable of delivering data over the Internet at speeds 100 times faster than current offerings.

Leaders in three other Utah Valley cities — Lindon, Cedar Hills and Payson — have publicly stated they want to be a part of UTOPIA.

Dickerson thinks increased bandwidth will improve Orem's standard of living and attract new businesses to the city. But he remains wary of the financial risks that UTOPIA poses.

If it is passed, Orem — along with other member cities — will have to guarantee nearly 40 percent of the annual debt service necessary to obtain financing for the project.

In Orem's case, that could be up to $2.1 million annually.

"Is it worth risking citizens' money to ensure that this is a 21st century city? That's the crux of the problem," he said.

For several of the member cities, the cost doesn't seem to be worth UTOPIA's promised capabilities. South Jordan pulled out last week after learning that cities will have to pledge their sales tax revenue as collateral for special bonds for the $540 million network.

Both Riverton and Cedar Hills are considering participation in the program, but without the required collateral since the small cities can't reasonably afford it.

"There's two types of membership: pledging and non-pledging, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you are out of UTOPIA," said Cedar Hills Mayor Brad Sears.

"You minimize the city's risk, but you also eliminate any financial benefit," he said. "The only benefit is that basically you have the fiber-optic network."

If member cities pull out, however, others cities won't be allowed to fill their vacancies — thanks to SB66 passed by the Legislature last week. The bill requires any cities that have not already joined UTOPIA to wait at least three years before signing on.

After three years, any cities that join will have to put any plans to spend taxpayer money on the fiber-optic system up to a public vote.